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When rec sports go off the rails

Playing recreation hockey for the past seven years, Lindsay Mallory takes the sport seriously.

“Once we are there,” Mallory said, who’s played with the same group of women for five years, “we all get pretty into it, once the game starts.”

However, practising and playing games numerous times a week can make the sport less about recreation and more about playing to win.

“We are all super involved,” said Mallory, who plays in the NCHL (non-contact league). “All of us are pretty competitive, but it’s a lot of fun. Sometimes it can get pretty stressful.”

With every team only allotted 300 penalty minutes and 30 for each player, sometimes the fights against the other team cause too many penalties and suspension of players.

“There’s a lot of screaming and yelling,” Mallory said. “It sucks when we have some players that get into a lot of fights and blow their penalty minutes at the beginning of the season and get suspended for the rest of the season.”

SAIT intramurals co-ordinator Mike Stevens said he’s seen a lot of crazy things throughout his three years in charge. “A lot of people have experience in their sport so they expect it to be called right,” he said.
“It just takes one bad apple to spoil it for everyone.

“If one person takes too many liberties then others want to settle it on the court or ice.”

And while SAIT students pay to participate in intramurals and may be only playing for a T-shirt at the end of the season, Stevens said it doesn’t mean they won’t play intensely.

“It’s the same as an athlete in any competitive level of a game, he doesn’t want his entire year ruined by a bad play or a single call by a ref.

“Everybody wants their moment and a T-shirt will help them remember it. They want a legacy to that moment that means something.”

A lot of recreational leagues in Calgary have had to institute “good behaviour” bonus points in their standings to show players what too much complaining could lead to. Stevens said referees for SAIT
intramurals have quit due to too many arguments over calls.

“I step in and loosen the rules to allow some flow. It’s my position people respect,” he said. “It’s tough to ask another student to settle things between students.”

He has simple advice for all players who complain about league they’re in or the officiating that takes place.

“It’s not about you, it’s more about everybody having a great and fun experience.”

The worst thing a team can do is default their game, or sign up then never participate.

“It drives me up the wall when one week nobody shows up,” Stevens said. “We deduct points for forfeits but there were too many and nobody wants not points.”

Unfortunately some teams who don’t show up know they’re good enough to still run through the playoffs. Games in the middle of the schedule aren’t that important.

“What players have to remember is their opponents sacrifice their school and social schedules to be there, so when the other team doesn’t show up I see how upset they are.”

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